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It could be the most expensive divorce in history.
Forbes ranks Hamm as the 35th-richest person in the country, with a net worth of $11.3 billion. His company, Continental Resources, owns 1 million acres in North Dakota's Bakken oil field, the shale play that has helped U.S. oil production rise to levels unseen in decades.
Continental says it does not anticipate any settlement would have a material impact on the company.
But Grow and Schneyer write that a judge could force Hamm to divide his 68 percent controlling stake in the company. They also talked to legal experts who said the final figure could rival Rupert Murdoch's unprecedented $1.7 billion settlement with his estranged wife.
Whatever the outcome, the story is a tragic chapter for a man who ranked 5th on our "Horatio Alger Index" of most impressive American rags-to-riches stories.
We wanted to portray the full life-story of a man who went from pumping gas at a corner store to becoming one of the most influential people in the energy industry.